Water-wheel.



No. 659,|29. Patented Oct. 2, 1900. M. A. BROWN.

WATER WHEEL.

(Application filed Apr. 2, 1900.)

(No Model.)

W/TNE SSE 8 Km. nor-ms wznzns w, woTaumo" WASH NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARK A. BROWN, OF DOUGLAS, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM O. PAXSON, OF SAME PLACE.

WATER-WH EEL.

SPEGIFIGATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 659,129, dated October 2, 1900.

Application filed April 2, 1900. Serial No. 11,120. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARK A. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Douglas, in the county of Coffee and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Water-Wheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of water- Wheels in which the Wateroperates upon a series of blades or buckets; and the object of my improvements is to provide a very easyrunning wheel of the above-indicated class, which will be simple and efficient and in which provision is made for securing an accurate adjustment of the power-shaft. v

The invention will be fully described hereinafter, and the features of novelty pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, inwhich similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a perspective view .of my improved Water-Wheel with parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof substantially on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail of the step-bearing for: the power-shaft,

and Fig. 4 is a sectional elevationon line 4 at of Fig. 3.

The improved water-wheel comprises a oasing, which consists of a top A, a bottom B, provided with outlets B, and a side wall 0, which is held between the top and bottom by means of bolts D and nuts D. The bottom may be provided with legs S. At one side of the mainly cylindrical Wall 0 is located an extension having top and bottom walls E and E, respectively, with horizontal slideways E and end walls F F. The walls E E FF form a channel which leads to the interior of the casing and extends in a practically tangential direction. The outer end of said channel is adapted to be closed by a gate G, sliding in the guideways E and operated in any suitable manner-for instance, by means of a shaft H, journaled in the walls E E and carrying pinions 1, which engage racks G on the gate G. The upper end of the shaft has a hand-wheel H. It will be understood that a suitable water pipe or flue (not shown) leads to the channel formed by the walls E E F F The perforated bottom B of the casing is provided at its center with an annular ball bearing portion B preferably somewhat raised, as shown, and upon this portion is supported, by means of balls J, the wheel proper, K, it being understood that the said balls run in grooves-in the wheel and in the bottom B, respectively. The wheel K is hollowed out, as at K, to reduce its weight and has at its top and bottom alining central aper tures for the passage of the shaft L. The shaft also passes centrally through the top A and bottom B of the casing and is capable of sliding up and down in the casing, as well as in the wheel K, while the latter is held to rotate with the shaft by any suitable meanssuch as a key M, secured to the top of the Wheel K and engaginga longitudinal groove in theshaft L. The lower end of the shaft rests upon balls J, adapted to run in a circular groove in a bearing-plate N, provided with alining trunnions N, supported in a plate or slide 0, which in turn is carried by guides P, which may at the same time form legs to support the casing. As shown in Fig. 4, the bearing-plate N is located partly within a depression Oin the slide 0, so as to be capable of rocking on the trunnions N, this movement being limited by projections or flanges N The wheel K has atop disk K and angular buckets formed by blades Q, projecting outwardly from the polygonal (or cylindrical) outer wall of the wheel proper. At the bottom of each blade Q is an inclined or spiral wall R, the lower ends of these walls being arranged to guide the water into the bottom of the casing and to the apertures B of the bottom B. A continuous cylindrical wall T surrounds the wheel K from the bottom up to the level of the junction of the vertical or axial blades Q with the inclined blades R.

In operation, the gate G being opened, water passes through the tangential channel formed by the walls E E F F into the casing and strikes the blades Q, so as to turn the wheel K, the water then escaping downward along the inclined blades R within the cylindrical -wall T and being finally discharged through the apertures B in the bottom B.

It will be particularly noticed that the balls J have to support only the weight of the wheel proper, K, since owing to the loose or sliding connection of the said wheel with the shaft L the weight of the machinery connected with the upper end of the shaft and driven thereby is supported exclusively by the step-bearing formed by the plate N and the balls J. Further, any vibration of the machinery which may cause an axial vibration of the shaft will have no appreciable effect upon the operation of the water-wheel proper. Owing to the use of the trunnions N, the plate N will automatically assume such a position that the shaft L will bear evenly upon all the balls J, so that the bearing is self-adjusting or self-centering,and any binding action is prevented. By moving the slide 0 the bearing-plate N can be brought into proper position below the center of the shaft. By the particular construction of the axial blades Q, inclined blades R, and surrounding ring T, I secure a very high efiiciency of the water-wheel.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent--- 1. The combination of a casing, a motorwheel mounted on the bottom of the casing to revolve therein, a shaft held to rotate with the wheel but free to slide relatively thereto, and a bearing for the lower end of the shaft below the bottom of the casing,substantially as described.

2. The combination of the casing, the driving-wheel supported to turn therein, the shaft connected toturn with the driving-wheel, but free to slide relatively thereto, and a rocking step-bearing for the end of the shaft, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the driving-wheel, a shaft held to rotate with the wheel but capable of sliding relatively thereto, a bearing for the wheel, a step-bearing for the end of the shaft, said step-bearing having tru unions, and a plate supporting said trunnions.

4. The combination of the driving-wheel, a shaft held to rotate with the wheel but capable of sliding relatively thereto, a bearing for the wheel, a step-bearing for the end of the shaft, said step-bearin g having trunnions, and a sliding plate supporting said trunnions.

5. The combination of the driving-wheel, a shaft held to rotate with the wheel but capable of sliding relatively thereto, a bearing for the wheel, a step-bearing for the end of the shaft, said step-bearing having trunnions, and a plate supporting said trunnions, and mounted to slide transversely of the axes of the trunnions.

6. The combination with a casing, of a water-wheel mounted on a bearing in the bottom of the casing, a shaft passing through the casing and wheel, said shaft being held to rotate with the wheel but free to slide vertically and independently of the wheel, a rocking bearing for the lower end of the shaft, and means for adj usting the bearing to center the shaft, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a casing, of a water-wheel mounted on a bearing in the bottom of the casing, a shaft passing through the wheel and easing, said shaft being held to rotate with the wheel but free to slide vertically and independently thereof, a recessed bar fitted to slide below the bottom of the casing, and a bearing fitting in the recess of the bar and provided with trunnions mounted in said bar, and with flanges which serve as stops to limit the rocking movement of the bearing, substantially as herein shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARK A. BROWN.

I Witnesses:

ALEX. J. MCDONALD, D. W. GAsKIN. 

